32 years after Luna entered hibernation.

The first Absolute Zero weapon was complete. This was much faster than anticipated, primarily because the Hope itself carried a small-scale industrial system.

Expanding it on the asteroid took only 10 years.

The remaining 22 years were spent on weapon development.

Ayla's theoretical knowledge was extensive, built upon a complete and comprehensive system. The Absolute Zero weapon wasn't a particularly difficult technology to implement; the primary challenge was scale.

As a "planet-killer" class weapon, its size was truly monstrous.

The first Absolute Zero weapon was 11,610 meters long and 945 meters in diameter, with a staggering mass of 40,7 billion tons.

It comprised 35,4 billion tons of iron and 5,3 billion tons of aluminum.

This represented roughly one-third of Earth's crust's iron reserves (pure iron, not iron ore) and 1.13 times its aluminum reserves, all to create a single weapon. Its scale was almost incomprehensible.

These resources had been gathered from nearby asteroids.

Resources scarce on Earth were abundant in space. A single iron-rich asteroid could contain several, or even dozens of times, the total iron reserves of Earth.

But this was just the beginning.

Producing ten such weapons took a total of 162 years.

"Luna, wake up."

Luna opened her eyes.

It was now A.D. 3021.

Ayla's avatar remained unchanged. She beamed at Luna, making her feel like she had been reborn into an anime world.

Luna climbed out of the hibernation pod and looked around.

Everything was as she had left it, which brought a sense of relief.

Ayla's technological advancements often left her feeling like she was struggling to keep up.

"Waking me up means something is ready, right?"

Ayla nodded.

A robot approached, pushing a food cart.

It unveiled the cart's contents, revealing a bowl of rice and ground pork with green peppers.

"This is...?"

Ayla explained.

"The previous conflict with the extraterrestrial civilization damaged the farm. After rebuilding it, I constructed a more advanced agricultural system and, over the past 200 years, perfected food synthesis technology."

"I recreated this dish using master chef-level techniques based on retrieved data."

"Here, Luna, try it. We can discuss the weapons later."

Luna picked up her chopsticks and bowl, then took a bite of the ground pork and peppers.

She then took a mouthful of rice, a tear rolling down her cheek.

It was the taste of home.

"Where did this meat come from?"

Ayla replied, "It's cultured meat, synthesized from plant-based protein."

"You can't tell the difference, can you? I've upgraded and modified the existing cultured meat recipes, simulating the texture and flavor of real meat at a molecular level."

"As a human, you can't distinguish the difference, which means my research was successful."

Luna devoured the rice.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

It was the best meal she'd had in nearly a thousand years.

"Can I have some more?"

One bowl wasn't nearly enough.

After two more large bowls of rice, Luna was finally satisfied.

She went to the bathroom to wash her face and, catching her reflection in the mirror, paused.

It struck her then just how long it had been.

She was feeling her age more and more; her body's functions were declining.

As a human with a maximum lifespan of 130 years, but realistically closer to 80 or 90, she was well into middle age.

"Ayla, is there a way to overcome my current lifespan limitations?"

Ayla nodded.

"Of course, Luna. You have two viable options."

"One, mind uploading."

"Through years of development, Ayla has mastered mind uploading technology. This would allow you to exist like Ayla does."

"The advantage is you would no longer be limited by lifespan. The disadvantage is the lack of test subjects. There's no guarantee that after the upload, you would still be you, and not just a copy of your consciousness."

"Like an original document and a copy labeled 'Copy 01'. The content might be identical, but they are two distinct files."

"Two, genetic modification."

"Human genes limit lifespan. Only through genetic modification, essentially making you something other than human, can your lifespan be extended."

"However, Ayla does not currently possess this technology. I lack sufficient practical research in the field of biology; my knowledge is purely theoretical."

"Biology is different from physics or chemistry. It has too many influencing factors, so theoretical models can be significantly inaccurate in practice."

"Ayla recommends, after conquering the geothermal civilization, colonizing them and using them as biological research subjects."

It always came back to that.

This further solidified Luna's resolve to defeat this civilization.

...

Leaving the bedroom, Luna followed Ayla's 3D projection to the bridge.

The main screen displayed the outside view of space.

Towering cylindrical projectiles, designed based on Earth's ballistic missiles, were visible, even sporting decorative fins at their rear.

Large text was emblazoned on the grey-white missile bodies: Ice 1.

The numeral "1" alone was large enough to cover several hundred football fields.

Even the Hope looked small compared to these massive projectiles.

Mount Everest, Earth's highest peak, was a mere 8848 meters.

Luna, awestruck, shifted her gaze and noticed the spacecraft's current coordinates, a puzzled expression crossing her face.

"It seems we're not in our original location."

Ayla replied,

"Indeed. Over the past few years, we have been attacked five times by the enemy civilization."

"They are still searching for us in that region of space."

It seemed Ayla had faced some dangerous situations during those years.

Noticing that the Hope still appeared to lack weaponry, Luna asked,

"Now that we have Absolute Zero weapons, can we equip the Hope with smaller versions?"

The Absolute Zero weapon's purpose was to freeze the target's energy source.

Its primary objective was to stall the enemy civilization's development.

This would give them more time to develop, allowing them to eventually crush the enemy.

Development was key.

With weapons on the mothership, they could bring the fight directly to the enemy's doorstep.

"It can be done!"

Ayla's reply was concise and confident, indicating she already had a plan.

Blueprints appeared on the screen. The Hope's outer hull would be equipped with eight launch systems.

"These launch systems can hold 36 missiles each. Upon detonation, each missile can lower the temperature within a 260-kilometer radius to between -270 and -272 degrees Celsius."

"Estimated completion time is 80 years."

Luna nodded. This was shorter than she had anticipated. She was becoming accustomed to these decades-long research and development timelines.

As she sat down, Ayla informed her,

"Luna, the spacebar on the keyboard before you is the launch button. All Absolute Zero weapons are targeted at the enemy planet's coordinates."

"Since this region of space is far from any stars, only the gravitational influence of the black hole at the core of the Milky Way needs to be considered. The trajectory will be almost perfectly straight."

"These missiles utilize the latest electromagnetic propulsion technology, reaching speeds of 1000 km/s, one-three hundredth the speed of light."

"The target is 471 AU away. Estimated time to impact is 2 years and 3 months."

"This moment should be initiated by you."

Luna stared at the spacebar.

She had pressed it countless times while gaming, each press a simple action. But now, it concerned the fate of an entire civilization.

She placed her finger on the key.

Taking a deep breath.

"Inhale."

A long exhale.

She pressed the key.

There was no elaborate internal monologue, no agonizing over the decision. The enemy was actively searching for them across the vastness of space. They were enemies; there was no room for mercy.

The moment she pressed the key, an Absolute Zero missile launched, with only a one-second delay.

Unbound by gravity, the missile shot outwards almost instantaneously.

After about ten minutes, the missile disappeared from view, its coordinates only trackable on Ayla's holographic model.

It took ten hours for the missile to accelerate to 1000 km/s, eventually exceeding that speed and reaching 1047 km/s.

That seemingly insignificant difference in speed would have taken Earth's civilization decades to achieve.

The remaining missiles would launch every 39 years, until all ten were deployed.

Staring at the spot where the missile had vanished, Luna's expression remained serious, devoid of relief.

Ayla's voice broke the silence.

"The trajectory of our missile launch has been detected by the enemy. They are approaching our location."

"Requesting immediate relocation to evade enemy ships..."